Chick box lid



K. I. MILLER CHICK B OX LID March 2', 1943.

Filed Jan. 6, 1941 Patented Mar. 2, 1943 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHICK BOX LID Kinney I. Miller, Lancaster, M0.

Application January 6, 1941, Serial No. 373,348

Claims.

My invention relates to chick boXes which are used for shipping live baby chicks, ducklings, baby turkeys, etc., from place to place.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improved lid for a chic-k box which is simple in construction, easy of assembly and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of my invention is to provide a chick box lid which has corners made of the same sheet material which comprises the lid extending upwardly in a position to Support a chick box placed upon the lid edge-wise relative to the projecting corners.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a chick box lid constructed of a single sheet of material so cut and folded that the outer edges may be formed into side walls for the lid and projecting members on the corners folded backwardly and upwardly above the surfac of the box top and then inwardly relative to the corners in such a position as to form a projecting spacer element so that when one box is piled upon another a free air space will be maintained for ventilating purposes between the bottom of the upper box and the lid of the lower box.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are; attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, point ed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspectiv View of a portion of a stack of boxes provided with the novel lid construction of my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 22 of Figure 1, drawn to a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of one corner of the lid in erected or assembled form drawn to a larger scale.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one corner of the lid structure showing th projecting .corner in the process of being folded into position, drawn to a larger scale.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the lid is formed prior to folding, drawn to a smaller scale.

In shipping baby chicks, baby turkeys, ducklings and baby fowl of any sort, especially where handled in relatively large quantities, shipping containers must be provided in which the chicks can be readily handled without danger of sutfocation or injury over long shipping hauls.

Injury to th chicks customarily arises from several sources. Body heat generated by the chicks is considerable in hot weather, for example, and this heat must be dissipamd from the shipping boxes or otherwise the chicks are likely to sufiocate. To correct this difficulty shipping boxes must be well ventilated. Especially when the boxes are piled one upon the other a space must be maintained between the top of the lower box and the bottom of the upper box so that each shipping box in turn is separately ventilated.

When it is borne in mind that for convenience these boxes must be stacked one upon the other as many as eight boxes high, the necessity for a firm and dependable spacer between the boxes becomes apparent. Boxes for shipping chicks have been fairly well standardized in their construction and are available in large quantities at reasonable rates but these boxes are not provided customarily with any means of spacing one from another when stacked. it. accordingly becomes advisable to provide some spacing means which is inexpensive and convenient.

My invention herein disclosed consists of a box lid of special construction which can be made to fit any kind of box body and which is cut out initially from a single sheet of material and so folded at the corners as to provide the necessary spacing medium consisting of a portion of the sheet material from which the box lid is initially formed.

In the drawing the character N] indicates chick boxes, two of which are shown stacked one upon the other and provided with lids l2. The box bodies are of customary construction and provided with ventilating apertures J4 in the sides thereof so as to permit air to circulate through the body of the box. The lids I2 are cut out initially from a single sheet of material as shown in Figure 5.

A central top portion H5 is provided and at the long sides of each are strips [8 forming side portions for the top. The strips extend outwardly at the corners 20. The blank is cut on the lines 22, and creased on the lines 24 so that the side portion may be bent downwardly and on the lines 26 so that the ends 20 may be bent inwardly forming flaps. The double dotted lines of Figure .5 represent creases where the lank is bent downwardly and the double solid lines creases where the bend is upwards. The singie lines in Figure 5 represent cuts or slits at the ends of the top It and there are provided similar strips 28 forming end portions and creases 339 permit these ends tocbe bent downwardly in order to form the lid,

Also, as part of the blank form there are provided turned back members illustrated generally by the character 32 which are hinged to the end portions 28 at the creases 34 while the cuts 35 render the turned back portions free from connection to the flaps 20. The turned back portions individually consist of an elongated body portion one-half of which is hinged to the end portions 28 and the other half of which is free. A central lateral crease 38 permits the turned back portion to be bent at the middle. Each of said turned back portions is provided with a slit All parallel to its outer edge and the outside edge of the end portion 28 from which it is spaced a distance substantially equal to the width of the end portion 28 for reasons which willlater ap pear.

The turned back portion is creased on the lines 42 forming between the edges and the slit a corner strip 44 which when the lid is erected supplies the projection which it is the object of this invention to provide. The corner section has a transverse central crease 38" in alignment with the crease 38 designed to permit bending of the corner section in a direction opposite from the bend provided by the crease 38.

When the lid is assembled the side portions [8 are first bent downwardly as viewed in Figures 2, 4 and 5, and the flaps bent inwardly. Next, the end portions 28 are bent downwardly and secured to the flaps 20 by staples 45, shown in Figure 2. When all of the flaps are stapled to the adjacent side portions the lid itself is com pleted.

. Next, the turned back portions 32 are bent first upwardly along the crease 34 and then backward so that. adjacent faces of the turned back portion and the end portions 28 are in face to face 0011-.

tact. Next, the turned back portion is bentv along the crease 38 so that the free end of each is moved into face to face contact with the adjacent side portion l8 and staples 48 and 50 are inserted to secure the turned back portion to the sidesofthelid.v

As the turned back portion is being creased along the. line 38, the corner'strip.44 is pushed inwardlyas indicated inFigure 4 and when the. turned back portion has been completely bent.

into place-the corner stripwill occupy the position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 3 and.

the solidlines in Figure 1. Once the turned back portion has been stapled fast the corner strip will remain extending-inwardly as illustrated with its bottom edge in edgewise contact with the 'top of the lid and its upper edge providing a projection for supporting the bottom of a box it! positioned immediately above it.

There has thus been provided a simple and inexpensive box lid formed from a blank stamped from a single sheet of material and foldedin such a manner that nothing more than portions of the sheet material itself provide simultaneously a box lid and projections thereon for separating the lid from the bottom of a box positioned immediately above it when lids and boxes are stacked in tiers. I

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure, or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. A lid for a chick box comprising an initially flat sheet of material adapted to be folded into the shape of a lid, said sheet having a top portion and strips at the edges thereof forming side and end portions having folding lines of attachment to the top adapted to be secured together at the ends when in erected position, and a turnback member at each corner secured throughout a portion of its length to the end one of said end portions, each said member having a slit intermediate its ends parallel to the side edge of said adjacent end portion forming a shelf strip and said members having when the lid is erected positions face to face against the outside edges to a position overlying the top.

2. A lid for a chick box comprising an initially single flat sheet of material adapted to be folded into the shape of a lid having opposite sides and ends, said sheet having a top portion and strips at each side forming side portions each having a folding line at its line of attachment to the top, strips at each end each having a folding line at its line of attachment to the top, flaps for securing the ends of said side and end strips together and a turn-back member fastened to the outside edge of each end strip near each end throughout a portion of the length of said member and extending beyond the outside edges of the respective side strips; said turn-back member having a slit parallel to the end edge of the top and defining a corner shelf strip, said flaps each having an erected portion secured to the ends of the adjacent side and end strips and each said turn-back member having an erected portion flat against the outside face of the side and end strips and the corner shelf strip extend ing inwardly from the corner.

3. A lid for a chick box comprising aninitially single-flat sheet of material adapted to be folded into the shape of a lid, said sheet having a top portion and strips at the sides forming side strips creased for folding at their lines of attachment to the top and extending beyond the ends forming flaps and end strips at each end creased for folding at their lines of attachment to, the-top and extending to the side edges of said top; and a turn-back member fastened to the outside. edge of the end strip near each end throughout a portion of the length of said member and extending beyond the outside edges of the respective side portions; said turn-back member having a slit intermediate the ends parallel to the end edge of the top forming a corner strip therebetween, said flaps each having an erected position flatwise against the end of the adjacent strip and secured thereto, each said turn-back member having an erected position with portions of the sides thereof flat against the outside faces respectively of the side and end strips and the corner strip'extending inwardly from the corner providing a projection suitable for supporting the bottom of a box of similar size in spaced relation to the top surface thereof. 4. A lid for a chick box comprising an initially single fiat sheet of material adapted to be folded into the shape of a lid, said sheet having a top portion and strips at each side forming side strips creased for folding at their lines of attachment to the top and extending beyond the ends a distance substantially equal to their respective widths forming flaps and end strips at each end creased for folding at, their lines of attachment to the top and extending to-the inner edges of.

aid side strips, and a turn-back member fastened to the outside edge of the end strip near each end throughout a portion of the length of said member and extending beyond the outside edges of the respective side strips, said turn-back member having a central lateral crease in substantial alignment with the side edge of the top, a slit transverse to said creas parallel to the end edge of the top and lateral creases at the ends of the slit on the outside thereof forming a corner strip therebetween, said side flaps each having an erected position flatwise against the adjacent end strip and secured thereto and each said turn-back member having an erected position with portions of one side thereof flat against the outside face of the end and side strips and the corner strip extending inwardly from the corner providing a projection suitable for supporting the bottom of a box of similar size in spaced relation to the top surface thereof.

5. A box lid having a top and turned down sides and ends, and a member at each corner having connected portions overlapping and secured to a side and an end and projecting above the top and having a slit substantially level with the top, the portion above the top and the slit being extended inwardly over the top to form an upward projection above the top supported by the top.

KINNEY I. MILLER. 

